Just freshly back from a 100% riveting workshop on Soul Contracts by Judy Hall, I have to report that there have been 2 dings on the Customer Complaints Desk this week.  One (just before I left for the workshop) took me to task over my over-optimistic Sagittarian approach (this is due to Sagittarius also being my Chiron sign as well as my Sun sign, and I heartily apologize if this has caused anyone any extra suffering).  The other complaint was waiting for me on my return and bemoaned my tardiness, with the words “Some of us are paralysed with inactivity and cannot get on with our lives until you have posted”.  Again, I heartily apologize if this has caused anyone any extra suffering.  If you are of the former disposition, please adjust my commentaries to a more pessimistic view, and if you are of the latter disposition then please be assured that you have not missed anything today as we do not have a major aspect. Tomorrow (Monday 22nd) the Sun is aligned with the Fixed Star Fomalhaut, and according to “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld: “This star has an excellent ability to release addictive states by bringing to consciousness the purpose of addictions.”  If combined with Dabih in the Constellation of Capricorn: “For many people there will be an improved sense of belonging.  This can be a feeling of being able to merge with society and do what is needed, but then being able to easily detach when necessary…Combined with Fomalhaut there can be a reduction of the hold of addictions on people because of these underlying principles.”  The Fixed Stars can be powerful in healing, and I for one will be tuning in tomorrow.  We’re working our way towards a sextile between the Sun in Pisces and Pluto in Capricorn on Tuesday 23rd.  I have been finding that Jupiter in Pisces has been making it easier to work in a deeper way, and this aspect will show that graphically.  The other main aspect of the week is Mercury conjunct Neptune on Saturday 27th.  This is an aspect which connects the rational mind (Mercury) with our spiritual pathway and sources of inspiration (Neptune), so that you are able to bring through subtle impressions, step them down and decode them with the rational mind.  They can then be used in the capacity of a spiritual messaging service for such things as writing poetry, mental healing or inspiration in dancing.  The mind may initially perceive the energy as confusion.  Many actors channel whether consciously or unconsciously in their craft (for example Shirley Maclaine), and the arrestingly beautiful Gyllenhaal siblings Jake and Maggie are a case in point.  They both have this conjunction between Mercury and Neptune which means they are guided in their work, and it is a family and probably soul group pattern because it is directly inherited from their father the Film Director and Poet Stephen Gyllenhaal who has the same aspect in his chart and the same distinctive features.  Scorpio Maggie was recently interviewed in the Guardian and shows the mental sensitivity of this conjunction in some of her remarks: “The older I get, the more vulnerable I get” and “I used to think that if I did my very best work, then everybody would love it, but I’ve realised that not everybody thinks the same things are good”.  This aspect can be mentally exhausting and you will want to conserve energy on Saturday for the Sunday, which has the gifts of Sun conjunct Jupiter to be harvested, and a Full Moon in Virgo which is very exacting.  I hope to post another of my interview series soon, as a few of them are nearly complete, and it has been an amazing experience for me – to ask, and receive…

There’s a lot to do today on the spiritual and emotional planes.  In no particular order, we have to reassure our loved ones of our unconditional love (St. Valentine’s Day), we have to honour the energy of the Chinese Year of the Tiger, and we need to make sure we have set our intentions for the New Moon in Aquarius.  By the end of the day, we should also have fulfilled the agenda of healing our soul (Sun conjunct Chiron) and dreaming our dreams (Sun conjunct Neptune).  Phew!  Where to start?  Of course we all know there is no such word as should, and especially if you are living in the flow.  If the postman has not delivered a Valentine’s card (and it is Sunday) know that with today’s Sun conjunct Neptune, the Valentine’s greeting may be delivered purely on the spiritual plane…(good excuse for some).  The Year of the Tiger this year coincides with the year of Jupiter in Pisces, and the energies couldn’t be more different.  Sometimes the two are in synch, but not this year, so you may notice two very different strands of energy this year.  Jupiter in Pisces reveals and delivers the hidden treasures of the soul, and the Year of the Tiger expresses a vibrant fearlessness.  Where the two astrological worlds come together will be in the conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus in June, for by then Jupiter and Uranus will be in the first degree of Aries, much more an expression of fearlessness than Jupiter in Pisces, and Uranus will add the stripes of the tiger.  The fearless expression of truth will be reborn; we will have harnessed some of  the treasures of the past (Jupiter in Pisces) in order to live in the Now (O degrees Aries).  If you sense a loss of form in my blog by the way, it’s due to my creative juices being diverted to co-ordinating my Interview Series and hours spent thinking up questions.  The second post (Felicity “The Voice” Cook) is now available, and a few others are bubbling away.  The New Moon in Aquarius took place in the early hours of this morning, and hopefully you woke refreshed and renewed and knowing how you wanted the day to proceed, and the ensuing month.  If not, you can gainfully spend the day on that project, but the afternoon is for healing (Sun conjunct Chiron) and the evening is for meditation (Sun conjunct Neptune).  So pace yourself accordingly, if you are living astrologically.  Hard on the heels of tonight’s meditative vibration, tomorrow morning (Monday 15th) sees a sextile between Venus and Pluto.  Venus-Pluto energy is not the easiest to negotiate, but this is a smooth-running aspect, so you may experience a regeneration of your relationship(s) on another level.  If physical, it may rise to the emotional level.  If emotional, to the mental level, and so forth.  If you are working on money rather than relationships (both Venus) then your cash supply could regenerate.  Later tomorrow Mars sextiles Saturn, which is good for cementing gains and following through with practical action.  Wednesday 17th is the real Valentine’s Day this week with Venus conjunct Jupiter, good for declarations of love, celebrations, engagements and marriages.  Relationships could make rapid progress this week.  And again, if it is money that you are after, you could take a step closer to your pot of gold.  It is a lottery day, and you may at least recoup your investment.  Chiron is also conjunct Neptune on Wednesday, so everything could come together: Healing and Spirituality (Chiron and Neptune), Love and Bounty (Venus and Jupiter).  On Thursday (18th) the Sun enters Pisces and the balance of energies shifts further towards Pisces from Aquarius.  At the start of the week the Moon, Sun, Mercury, Neptune and Chiron are in Aquarius.  The Moon imminently moves into Pisces and by the end of the week you find the Sun, Venus, Jupiter and Uranus are all in Pisces.  Life is more soft-focus.

I would like with some of the interviews in this series to try to bridge Astrology with other disciplines and healing arts, and feel that Flick has met me half way with this.  Flick of course will be no stranger to regular readers of my Blog!  With her Sun conjunct my Jupiter we are constantly making each other laugh even under extreme stress.  Flick is a Sun sign Aquarian and the future of Voicework.

Lana:  Flick, I see you as having been born to voice work.  What is your relationship with voice, and what do you think it is about you which makes it your vocation?

Flick:  This is a rather long in-depth question you have posed here!  Not as straightforward as one might imagine.  You ask what my relationship is with voice.  If you are asking about my own voice then…with my voice itself it is a love relationship, with singing it is a love-hate.  I believe the reason for this is that my love of voice is nothing to do with singing.  It is to do with the authentic voice within, the spokesperson for the soul; this is what interests me.  I believe I have always been a voice psychotherapist (though currently in training for the psychotherapist aspect of the work) rather than a singer/teacher.  Voicework, if it is to do with the emancipation and enhancement of the human being, is where my passion lies.  To hear that which is contained within the vibrations of the sound, the colours and qualities of that vibration, is a gift which I acknowledge I have been given and feel grateful for on a daily basis.  It called me at an early age to find my voice, to free myself and my family on a deep level; it is ongoing work. “Speak your voice to me and I will know you.”

Lana:  What is your relationship to Astrology?  I wonder if you can reveal anything about the new work that has been given to you “Harmony of the Spheres”.  It sounds Astronomical.

Flick:  What an interesting question.  I have always felt I long to be right in the thick of Astrology and the amazing information it has for us, but have always felt on the outside, as my ability to see clearly how it all fits together is obscured by Neptune perhaps?  I’m not sure!  As for the Harmony of the Spheres I am treading very carefully as I really can’t impose anything on this work.  It has to evolve in a timely manner, in a way where I am out of the way and it comes through me.  I don’t yet know what it will involve or indeed how it will evolve.  All I know is I need to give myself over to it and what I might be called on to do with it. I believe at this stage that it is something about drawing others into a sound orb of stillness where we each wait to be given sound(s) for a collective opening of harmonies to emerge…this is not about singing.  It is about sounding.  It is cosmic sound I am speaking of.

Lana:  You have Neptune rising in Libra, so it is a key planet for you, and I always say a healthy Neptune is something to aim for.  Neptune also represents your vision.  When we were meditating on the forthcoming T-square a year ago, you said: “As we go into the T-Square in about a year’s time, the Lightworkers will resonate in a way which holds the planet safely – a Tensegrity – just as the guides have been holding the Planet until now.”  You described it as a time when “a resonance of clear energy which has a vibrancy of life never seen before on this planet.  The whole body will sound, not just the voice.  The body will be the instrument of love and as such it will sound in complete unity and harmony with all other beings around it”, but you said not everybody would be able to hear or see it…Can you expand on your vision of Tensegrity?

Flick:   This is quite a question Lana!  I feel I was channelling when I came out with that information.  I don’t yet know how this will look.  I do feel however that we are gradually moving towards it and I certainly am in my work.  Sound is vibration.  We are – all things are vibration.  If we constrict, restrict, fix in any way, we clamp down inappropriately on our own true vibration.  Whe we as human beings are vibrating with freedom and ease we cannot help but be in balance with our own sound, our place in the grand scheme; this is Tensegrity of Sound and vibration – the supporting of a structure through its own balance of tension and integrity.  One could say this is perfect suspension.

“Tensegrity was a term used by Carlos Castaneda to refer to some movements called magical passes (a series of meditative stretches, stances and movements) that he said were developed by Native American shamans who lived in Mexico in times prior to the Spanish conquest.” – Wikipedia

This may also be of interest! www.cleargreen.com/english/tensegrity.cfm

Lana:  You also linked it at the time with the Light Grid Mandala (which is pictured on my Mandalas page) saying that was an accurate visual representation of it.  I want to turn now to the power of sound to heal.  How transformational is the power of sound?  And could you give examples?

Flick:  Well, on this question I believe there are far more experienced people than me to answer it!  I will say however, that Hazrat Inyat Khan believed that sound will become the next big healing breakthrough.  Going back to my answer for question 3, we are vibration.  Music has the power to heal due to the resonance.  If we look at the work of Hans Jenny and Cymatics www.cymaticsource.com we realise sound can be used heal or to destroy.  Those of us who are sensitive will feel a dis-ease when listening to certain forms of music which jar against our own harmonic structure.  It is believed that certain composers, Mozart for example, will appeal to those people who feel a pull towards the DNA structure of Mozart.  I believe Don Campbell is the person to read on this subject: www.mozarteffect.com.  I have had the privilege of hearing the sounds of a dying body, the sounds of the planet, and hearing how sound blasts cancer cells.  Whilst this is my peripheral knowledge and interest I can safely say my area to work with transformation is through each individual’s personal sound and the collective use of voice.  I have seen this work transform lives many times.  The more we are able to vibrate our true vibration the more we will be able to segue into the next vibrational level for mankind.

Lana:  Thank you!  And last but not least for Question 5, other facets of your work are Healing and Psychotherapy (I am not sure which year of training you are in).  You have Chiron (the wounded healer) in Capricorn, and I wonder if you can describe to me your Inner Healer?

Flick:  Hmmm…You do like to throw the cat into the pigeon’s nest, don’t you?!  I am actually in my 3rd year of Psychotherapy training and really enjoying the journey.  As a healer I trained at the Snowlion School in the South of France and this was in Psycho-Spiritual Energy Therapy.  I use it now in my world in an indirect way as it has informed my wholistic approach to life and my work.  As you say, I have Chiron in Capricorn.  I feel this is a difficult placing for me along with one or two other significant astro placings to do with my mother.  It has been a challenge for me to let go of the workaholic and see where this has come from.  If I am answering the question from the *healed* place I see it is connected with my Aquarius Sun very strongly…to do with groups, humanitarian quests etc.  I feel my work is on the cutting edge and quite difficult to give birth to, as there is nothing like it that I know of, apart from voice recognition where the results are generated by hi tech equipment.  My inner healer is holding group consciousness, group and individual wounding and offering space for this to be transformed.

Here are the links to Felicity’s websites:

http://www.voiceworks-uk.com/

www.thevoicedbodymind.com

www.thesingingsoul.co.uk

Singing-Sensuality-Serenity

“What men or gods are these?  What maidens loth?  What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?  What pipes and timbrels?  What wild ecstasy?”

~ John Keats

The brief triple conjunction of Venus-Chiron-Neptune at 25 degrees Aquarius today and tomorrow in Aquarius suggests people getting together for the purposes of healing and entertainment.  There’s a hint of the biblical phrase “For when two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them”.  Venus with the other fellows may also bring poignancy in love, like the figures on the Grecian Urn lyricised by Keats.  These are the things which are conjured to mind in the imagination.  The reality may be very different.  Looking at my diary for the next two days, I have a get together with old friends today (Aquarius) in which the talk is likely and necessarily to turn to ailments (Chiron).  Tomorrow is a family get-together (Aquarius) at a funeral.  There will be refreshments afterwards (Venus) but thoughts are likely to turn to spiritual links (Neptune) rather than the Neptunian activity of dancing.  There may be a sense of closure (Venus conjunct Chiron) or a mood of serenity (Venus conjunct Neptune).  Venus-Chiron-Neptune at its best could bring the sublime and the miraculous.  The Venus-Chiron part happens today (emphasis on health and healing) and the Venus-Neptune tomorrow.  If you are interested in colour healing, magenta will bring together a group, while peach can bring out spiritual love (Venus conjunct Neptune) and salmon pink  Universal love.  The emphasis and tone of the week is characterized by the quick romp of the minor planets in contrast to the dominance of the heavies last week.  While the activities of the first half of the week emphasize sociability, the second half is dominated by Mercury and could be more cerebral.  You can keep your brain sharp and active by doing crossword puzzles and sudoku if you’re retired like me (though I’m finding nature abhors a vacuum and I don’t feel retired at all!)  Or you can whizz round visiting people on public transport (expressing the Mercury principle) if you’re not engaged in office work or board room wrangles.  Alternatively, if you are leading the more natural life, you may be paying extra attention to weather and the environment (Mercury) or exercising by walking (more Mercury) and refining your awareness of the nuances of climate change (ditto).  Down to specifics: Mercury enters Aquarius on Wednesday 10th and so joins the party, but from the other side of the room (Venus and Co are gathered at the end of Aquarius).  There may not be any direct contact between them (and the Sun shining in the middle of Aquarius), but they will all be singing from the same songsheet, i.e. Aquarius, which will be useful for wider group endeavours.  But the group will only enjoy the company of Venus one more day, for she moves on to Pisces the next day (Thursday 11th).  They may miss her harmony and warmth, but she will become more harmonious and warmer and more voluptuous for being in Pisces.  She will also be more emotional, gushing and sincere.  The other characters will be asking “What’s got into her?  One minute she’s this, and the other minute she’s that”.  Glamorous female celebrities may change their image or switch back to ex-partners.  Now that I am not wearing glasses I am able to zone out the covers of Heat and Hello magazines at the supermarket, nor can read the fine print on the cover of the National Enquirer, so I don’t know who has more claim on Brad Pitt these days…(ignorant bliss).  Mercury trines Saturn on Saturday 13th, which means you can apply your mind and possibly even tackle heavy mental tasks such as assembling your case for the pensions Ombudsman.  If engaged in studies, a good dose of reality will be what is learned from early morning, and later Mercury opposes Mars so there may be debate and lively discussion.  Minor accidents could also be on the cards, so drive safely.  Mercurial brain activity is not the contemplative kind, it’s more prosaic, but take a couple of moments out in your right brain to set up a happy outcome for Sunday (I know, I’m spilling over again) when the New Moon in Aquarius can cement social alliances and remind us to take pride in being part of the human race.

Growing a little tired of my own voice, and with Jupiter recently entering my 11th House of Friendship, I thought I would set up a few mini-interviews with people whose voices I have great respect for!

Asia Haleem has been a friend since 1986, when we discovered we had shared past lives as Astrologers in the Ancient world.  She’s a Sun Sign Virgoan.

Many years ago the embryo for Cosmokrator, based on a Stone Age ball in the Ashmolean Museum, was devised in discussion with the late mathematician, Charles Muses, a friend of Linda Goodman.  It has taken two decades to fully fledge.

Asia has recently revamped its website, and I thought it would be an opportune moment to launch my interview series and bring Cosmokrator to the attention of a few more people.

Lana: Could you describe the origins of Cosmokrator in your own words?

Asia: All my life I’ve been interested in gifted people who experience synaesthesia which means they see colours when they hear musical notes, or experience shapes when they taste different foods.  The idea that different levels of matter are linked in musical octaves goes back to ancient Egypt and Hermes Trismegistos’ famous saying As Above, So Below.

Lana: You’ve called it an instrument, an icon and a toy: can you describe it to me?

Asia: It is like a little football – a cuboctahedron with 14 coloured facets for the 12 signs plus the Black-White Polar Axis going from Pole to Earth.  Starting from a person’s Sun Sign you can play games by finding out how compatible you are with other people by locating their sign and colour on the model.  My own feeling is that once made, its beauty alone sets off all sorts of natural associations.

Lana: This product brings together many facets of your life’s work, as a teacher of iconography, researcher of ancient history, and of ancient astronomy.  Please could you let us know a little about your passion for these subjects?

Asia:  I find ancient knowledge quite riveting and relevant to our lives today: in a strange way very ancient and very modern people understand each other – extremes meet!  That’s why I now have degrees in art history and archaeology, and a particular interest in the extraordinary work of the Babylonian astronomers (Cosmokrator Book 7A) whose clay tablets, on display in the museums of the world, contain lists matching the Signs with colours, plants, materials, shapes and events.

Lana:  How do you define an icon, and specifically in relation to your creation?

Asia:  An icon is a support for contemplation, a doorway to higher worlds.

Lana:  For someone like myself, who is daunted by geometry, is it easy to use?  One of my friends, who bought one, describes it as impressive and exciting.

Asia:  The model is sent to you already drawn out, scored for folding and colour printed: all you have to do is assemble it.  No knowledge of geometry is required – just a tube of glue.  The website gives guidance. (If only we could afford the version suggested by Element books: made of interlocked semi-precious stones).

Lana:  Does it rest on sound astrological foundations?

Asia:  It is astrologically tried and tested for accuracy, based on ancient records.  I have one on my mantelpiece with the current sign facing up as we go through the year following the colours of the months.  It helps to show up the nature of World Age Axes (Aquarius-Leo is Mauve-Gold, for instance).  Ultimately it serves as a support for spiritual work, and provides alphabets of the universe that children could be taught from kindergarten.   It truly is a polyvalent instrument which can be light-heartedly used as a toy to start with – the best way to learn what it can do is through making and playing around with it!

Here are the links, which also appear on my Contact page:

Cosmokrator model explores Astrology/Colour/Sound/Music/Shape:

http://www.cosmokrator.com/

For more information about Asia’s life and work:

http://www.layish.co.uk/ (still under construction)

Today sees the second phase of the Pluto-Saturn square, which occurs in the evening in the U.K.  In your own life, you may be part of a group which is trying to resolve a long-standing dispute (Saturn in Libra), and today may see the group resting on its laurels, having recently made grand overtures from one side to another.  You may not even be aware of the group, or the dispute, as it may be something subtly played out on psychological levels over a wide area, such as within an extended family, the executives and non-executives within a corporation, or on a societal level such as the rich-poor divide.  There may be a sense of “It’s nothing to do with me” what the other side get up to or even the fact of their existence.  Two examples on the world stage are the overture from Karzai in Afghanistan towards the Taliban (while the world has a sharp intake of breath and tries to assess if it is a good thing, or not) and the current negotiations in Ireland on the subject of devolution.  So we are in the midst of delicate and complicated negotiations and bargaining, and these things cannot be rushed.  A Saturn-Pluto process is a long one, and a serious matter, involving deep psychologies.  One of the delicate balances in the art of Astrology is to give the proper weighting to astrological events, taking into account such things as the strength of the planets involved and the rarity of the planetary interactions.  At the beginning of this week we may see that recent overtures and efforts have taken a step forward, but things may still look bleak.  But at the end of the week, there may be more of a sense of triumph and progress, and this may be linked with the difficult enterprise of the early stage of the week.  A certain amount of letting go needs to be taking place at least until the middle of the week, e.g. mourning over compromises you might have made (for the greater good?) or wondering if you have shared too much (information must be shared if the human race is to evolve!).  But consequently around mid week you need to turn your mind around and work with the positive forces and hopefulness of the upcoming Jupiter-Pluto sextile at the end of the week; the turning of a bleak attitude into one of hope and looking forward to the future.  Do all you can today, and then rest on your laurels, or even take a step back and breathe.  Allow the mental processes to settle until mid-week.  Tuesday (2nd February) brings a conjunction of Mercury with the North Node.  This will allow you to coolly and mentally assess the karmic implications of any of the wider efforts in a partnerhip, group or organization.  I will be looking back on my 40 years as a student of Astrology.  It will be 40 years to the day since I picked up an Astrology text book in this lifetime, and realized that I already had this knowledge.  It was therefore also the beginning of my understanding and recognition of past-lives, my work in this sphere, and seeing its links and interaction with Astrology.  It will be a serious evaluation, as Mercury/North Node will be conjunct my Midheaven (Careerpoint) and trine my Saturn, but I hope to have some cake, too.  My birthday dinner party was cancelled because of the snow!  Wednesday and Thursday are suitable for acknowledging the difficulties in life but seeing that there is always a positive route to travel towards (in this case Jupiter’s sextile with Pluto at the end of the week, which is an attempt at rebalancing an intractable situation).  After you have faced the facts, you may for instance feel that you have a case for demanding a recount from your accountant or bank manager.  The Chilcott enquiry into the Iraq war will welcome Clare Short this week to give evidence, and she appeared on the Andrew Marr show hosted by Sophie Raworth this morning.  Clare gave a taster of her evidence, in the form of vignettes of coffees supped with Gordon Brown at the time,  and the extent to which he was not involved in the war decisions.  Clare is a no-nonsense Aquarian, and quit the cabinet at the time of the war, followed by Robin Cook.  I was fascinated at the time how they were born within a fortnight of each other in the same year, and both quit within a short space of time, as Saturn was transiting their North Nodes (their consciences not allowing them to continue to support the war).  Robin Cook sadly cannot give his story, as he died in 2005.  But his spirit may be one of those presiding!  By Saturday 6 February hopefully you will be actively able to do something to shift your personal affairs or to assist the unlocking of a greater deadlock.  Another more minor aspect steps up to lend assistance to Jupiter’s endeavours with Pluto: Mercury sextiles Uranus on the morning of Saturday 6th.  If you set your mental alarm to problem-solving in the second half of the week, the alarm may go off with a joyous ring and a brilliant idea for the way forward, which will assist and pave the way for the bright new plan of Jupiter sextile Pluto.  Jupiter sextile Pluto brings a breakthrough, not a cure-all, for Saturn square Pluto is a long slog.  But nevertheless Jupiter puts the wind beneath our wings for at least a few days, and we may have something to show for our response to it.

There’s a good solid aspect today for those who don’t trust the more flighty aspects: Sun trine Saturn.  It’s a day when you can get practical tasks done and tie up loose ends.  If you are a thinker rather than a doer, reflect on the serious issues in life and you will be rewarded.  Strike a pensive pose, and ponder the nature of frustration, limitation or depression and you may surface with a breakthrough.  This will also be good preparation for next Sunday’s Pluto square Saturn, Phase 2.  Phase l occurred in the middle of November last year, and you may want to ponder what it meant to you personally.  For me, it was at the time that I stopped wearing my glasses, and it is over 2 months now since I wore them.  There have been one or two occasions I have nearly reached for them, but divine interventions stopped me.  I was reading “Restoring your Eyesight – a Taoist Approach” by Doug Marsh this week, and came upon a description of what I was feeling at that time: “If people continue wearing their prescription lenses faithfully through adulthood, as most do, does this second GAS [general adaptation syndrome] phase continue until it reaches a point in retirement years when the eyes scream out, ‘That’s it!  We can’t take this tension any more!  Enough is enough’? ”  So today is for practical work, stocktaking and preparation time.  Venus opposes Mars on Wednesday 27th, bringing up issues such as the battle of the sexes, equal pay, double standards, whether men should have botox, and possibly more serious issues such as body dysmorphia.  It is a time to acknowledge the individuality of our sexual psychology, and be less judgemental about others’.  On Friday 29th the Sun is opposed by Mars, which could be a hotheaded day for some, especially those born under Aries, Leo and Aquarius.  So it will be a challenging day for diplomats and those seeking to calm or damp down the situation, such as the bystanding Librans or the Capricorns ready with the wet blankets.  The fires may rage within your own psyche as inner conflict, in which case you will need to find your own inner arbiter.  But deal with it, for the tension is building up with a Full Moon on Saturday 30th and Saturn square Pluto on Sunday 31st (overrunning my brief, but it is an integral part of the picture).  The Full Moon in Leo on Saturday pits the individual against the group, and actually I have just remembered a dream about this last night.  In the dream, I was toeing the line in a group, quite happily, willingly and conscientiously, and then the leader of the group released me from my obligations.  I then felt as free as a bird.  All dream interpretations on a postcard, please.  It can take a lot of energy, skill and compromise to perform well in a group while keeping your own individuality, and these may be some of the issues that come up for you at this time.  I wrote a blog about the power of the group on August 9th (“Balance in Groups”) at the time of the lunar eclipse in Aquarius.  Now the position of the Sun and Moon are reversed, and the emotional power lies within the individual (Moon in Leo).  Egos will need to be balanced, for the group to be balanced.  There just remains to make a few remarks prior to next Sunday’s Saturn square Pluto (Phase 2): the actual date of the last Saturn square Pluto was quiet, despite the hype, but American Astrologers have linked it with the Fort Hood shootings a few days before.  I have been asked this last week if I thought the Haiti earthquake is linked.  I personally think not specifically, but only in terms of the general climate.  There may be a separate marker of some sort next Sunday, but disasters are becoming more frequent generally.  The British government in recent days have raised the temperature, issuing a raised terror alert level.  If you want a realistic astrological interpretation of Saturn square Pluto, read Nancy’s New Year blog entitled “Times of Crisis: Saturn/Pluto”.  If you would like a more divine view of the times, read “The Crystal Rose of Peace: The Energies for January 2010 and the Coming Year” by Celia Fenn (both links are on my Contact page).  For balance, read both.

If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to build up your Astrology library or catch up on your reading, Chiron specialist Joyce Mason (the “Radical Virgo”) has just published a blog which could inspire and re-awaken your astrological brain cells.  She has taken a panel of 5 Astrologers (including myself) and amalgamated their favourite books into a top reading list.  It was fun for me to ponder which books I would take with me on a desert island!  Whether you are a beginner or a veteran, you’ll enjoy the list.  There are some titles there I haven’t read for almost 20 years, so I will be returning to those as well as reading titles I haven’t come across.

Here’s the link:

http://radicalvirgo.blogspot.com/2010/01/winter-astrology-reading-five.html

Last week the poor of the world got poorer and the event of the week was the earthquake in Haiti.  Several astrological factors seem to be involved, among them the approach of Saturn’s retrograde turn, and the approach of the Eclipse.  Looking at the 1804 chart for Haiti, there are two transits from Pluto at the time of the earthquake: Pluto conjunct the natal Mars of Haiti, and squaring its natal Saturn.  It seems likely that Pluto was at least partly responsible for knocking down the house of cards.  The Ascendant of the earthquake chart has Sirius rising, which is a puzzle since Sirius has a benevolent reputation.  Where are the Space Brothers when you need them?  Siriusly…It is hard to see a silver lining in this tragedy, but an open mind may reveal one some day.  Meanwhile our prayers go out, hope that the aid reaches its targets quickly, and praise for all those physically helping out there under such difficult conditions.  Jupiter entering Pisces tomorrow (Monday 18th) may bring good news for aid relief as it is a drive for compassionate action and signals a year of renewed vitality for charities.  This may offset some of the flagging support which has resulted from the credit crunch.  Promises, promises, you might say, but fingers crossed that Jupiter will deliver the goods during its stay in Pisces.  It rushes through Pisces over the next six months, then meets Uranus at the beginning of Aries, in a blaze of excitement, then retrogrades back into Pisces, ending the year square the Galactic Centre.  In your own chart it will increase your ability to mine the treasure of your unconscious mind, and this switchover of Jupiter from Aquarius to Pisces will highlight a a different way of dealing with the affairs of the house it falls in.  To give an example, if your Ascendant is Aquarius, it will fall in your first house, and you will notice a deepening of emotion and compassion, as contrasted with the more detached segment of your first house which is composed of Aquarius.   Another planet changes signs tomorrow, and as Jupiter leaves Aquarius Venus arrives there.  The quality of love which is expressed when Venus is in Capricorn is unsentimental but loyal.  Venus entering Aquarius will still be cool and slightly reserved, but will additionally have a humanitarian and idealistic quality, thus again supporting the world response to Haiti and any other natural disasters which may occur during its stay which lasts until 11 February.  It is a week of switchovers, and if you have your Ascendant or Sun particularly at the cusp of two signs, you may feel a shift of gears within yourself.  Wednesday 20th January reveals the third change of sign, that of Sun into Aquarius, by which time such O degree people will have a whole new wardrobe of identities to play around with.  The emphasis turns from straight to quirky, the route of sticking to old solutions transforms into seeking out new ways of doing things, and original ideas for problem-solving.  The first half of the week is markedly a climate of change.  On Friday (22nd) Venus trines Saturn, and this is a marker for honouring and respecting old loves, personal contracts, and expressing yourself with sincerity.  It may also be helpful in stabilizing and pinning down economic resources, including overseas aid.  By the end of the week, you may be better able to answer the question “Who are you?”  And/or the next question, “What do you stand for?”  A man who had to answer searching questions last week was Alistair Campbell at the Chilcot enquiry into the Iraq war.  We know that Tony Blair and George Bush did religion, but it is not yet clear whether Alistair (who quoted psalm 56) does religion.  The North Node, an agent of karmic reckoning, was acting as the presence of God, and trined his Jupiter inviting him to reveal the whole truth.  The search for truth, meaning, and silver linings goes on…

The Sun and Venus are coming up to a conjunction with the North Node tomorrow (Monday 11th) which is an accounting of our emotional lives.  People may be prepared to demonstrate, in acts of kindness or creativity, how much others mean to them.  It is an excellect day for creativity, performers and the Arts, though it may also be a day when art or music bodies may find out how much they are worth or how much the government will fund them.  I watched the new Arlene Phillips show “So you Think you can Dance” yesterday, and was astounded at how much the performers danced their hearts out, and was amazed at what they could do.  This conjunction of North Node/Sun/Venus takes place in Capricorn and represents the expression of our highest potential, often along the lines of our karmic mission.  This is then offered to the world (Capricorn) for valuation.  The valuation may or not match up to the performer’s own valuation of their work.  But it is a marker, and a test, on the pathway of evolving your own work and craft, even if it is not within the arena of the Arts.  What you then take away, and take to heart, will shape your future work.  This will be a theme for the week, because we are working up to an eclipsed New Moon which is also in the sign of Capricorn, and as Politicians are represented by Capricorn they too will be evaluated by the public that elect them.  The question is, in your karmic mission or in the divine plan (North Node in Capricorn) are you putting your heart and soul into what you do, or is some of your energy being diverted by other considerations such as social climbing (a province of Capricorn)?  One of our cats has a Capricorn ascendant and he has definitely been trying to use his charms this week to wheedle favours from us (he is the one that worries about global warming).  What he doesn’t realize, is that he doesn’t need to do that, he just needs to be himself.  Wednesday (13th) is another interesting day, which may have the pace of the quickstep.  Uranus provides the quick, and Saturn the slow.  The day starts with Venus sextile Uranus, perhaps an exciting social meeting (which may be unplanned).  Then Saturn goes stationary, prior to turning retrograde.  That might mean more slowing down, and more snow, for the U.K. at least (see my previous blog).  That is more reckoning and accounting, and as Saturn rules Capricorn, the issues again are Capricorn-related, including Institutions such as the Civil Service, Politics and government, as well as electioneering.  Progress may seem to go backwards, e.g. infantile mudslinging across and within political parties.  Then  another burst of quick, with Sun sextile Uranus.  Very quick in fact, so quick that you might do a double-take and wonder what did happen, and whether it did happen.  That could be performance-related, in that someone may use power or charm to perform a Derren Brown style trick, but so deft that you may end up shaking their hand and handing them the competition crown.  Uranus is coming from Pisces the sign of magic, and the Sun from Capricorn meaning that afterwards you need to stand back and evaluate whether you were impressed by the gloss or if the act or performance really means something and is sustainable in its usefulness.  In reaching a considered conclusion, you may then decide to take back the crown.  The important question is whose cause is more worthwhile and more necessary, not who can dazzle best.  Interviewers take note, and interviewers are key people this week (and a lot of interviews and examinations may be taking place).  Friday (15th) is no less important or riveting in terms of planetary activity, with an eclipsed New Moon beginning the day at 25 degrees Capricorn, and Mercury turning direct in the afternoon restoring timetables perhaps.  Now I am not an expert in eclipses, but Astrologers seem agreed that they are Very Significant, and some Astrologers do specialize in them.  Events now may be paired with events last New Year’s Eve, the previous eclipse.  A Capricorn New Moon is an important time for seeking interviews with those in authority,  and looking at your overall life direction and career plans.  It is significant for society in terms of politics and electioneering.  Eclipses are turning points, so there can be an element of coercion, e.g. a re-invention might be forced in political terms, or in your personal life you may have an insight (which you can’t ignore) into how things need to be in your life, and how you can take a step towards that.  It could be a pivotal eclipse: the Ukraine (Uranus/Neptune/North Node and Ascendant in Capricorn plus a climate to match) is holding elections shortly afterwards on 17th which may alter its relations with Moscow and Europe, and Jupiter goes into Pisces on 18th which may bring about more illusion, or greater compassion.  The will of the world is made up of all our individual wills.